Rowing partners Connolly and Alexander discuss their training routines

When Masters rowers B.J. Connolly and Rachel Alexander teamed up as a pair for the first time, the result was, in Connolly's words, "magic." The women won their first race, a pairs sprint at the 1997 U.S. Rowing Masters National Championships, and haven't stopped winning since. "As soon as we rowed together, we clicked," said Alexander, 48, who, like her rowing partner Connolly, 55, lives outside Seattle. "We won that first race in Long Beach (Calif.) and that set the tone for the next 10 years."

Today, the two are undefeated in their age category, winning every national and world pairs (two-woman) event -- all sprints of 1,000 meters -- in which they compete. Several years ago, they formed their own rowing club, Watercats, to also compete in larger boats with crews of four and eight. They win nearly all of those races as well.

This August, at the 2007 U.S. Rowing Masters National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Connolly and Alexander entered and won five events, including pairs, women's 4s, mixed 4s, women's 8s and mixed 8s. "We've just been lucky," said Connolly, who rows starboard, or bowside, while Alexander rows port, also known as strokeside. "We train really hard and we row really well together."

Both began crewing in college, but due to the demands of family and careers, took time off from the sport, picking it up again years later. They had both been rowing separately at the Lake Washington Rowing Club when Connolly was looking for a new pairs partner and asked Alexander if she'd like to practice together.

It was an immediate match. "Part of it is personality, and sharing a similar work ethic is really important," Alexander said. "We're both staying fit and training hard, and we both have the same passion for the sport, without a doubt."

Physically, they are well-matched. Both weigh 155; Connolly is almost 6 feet tall, and Alexander is 5 feet, 10 inches. Both are careful about what they eat, trying to eat as naturally as possible. They also attribute their harmony in the boat to the fact that they enjoy each other's company. "We're just total goofballs," said Connolly. "She's like the sister I never had."

They live 45 minutes apart, so three to four mornings a week, they get up at 4:30 a.m. to meet halfway between their homes at Lake Union at 5:15 a.m. They row a 60- to 90-minute workout before heading to their jobs. Alexander works as a State Farm insurance agent and Connolly is a real estate broker. On alternate days, the women cross-train separately. "Getting out on the water at that time of the morning is always so peaceful," Alexander said. "There's nothing like a calm, flat lake to row on and having the sun come up."

They train without a coach, working from a regimen developed by their former coach and tailoring it to fit their race schedule.

In the winter, they concentrate on weight lifting to build muscle for the upcoming race year. During the spring and summer, the women work on developing power and speed for the sprint race season. In the later summer and fall, Connolly and Alexander start training for the longer head races, which require greater endurance.

Right now, the pair is aiming for the Head of the Charles Race in Boston on Oct. 20 and 21, which is nearly 3 miles long. Last year, they started in 14th place and still managed second place. That guarantees the women a second-place start in this year's race. They hope to win, cheered on by Connolly's son, Joe, a senior at Boston College.

Here is a typical sprint season workout for Connolly and Alexander:

Sunday
Alexander runs a hilly cross country course in a local park for 30 minutes. She stops two or three times during the run to do sets of 20 push-ups. She does additional push-ups after the run to bring the total number of push-ups to 100, and does 100 sit-ups. Connolly rests on Sundays.

Monday
Alexander runs for 20 minutes at the park and then runs 10 sets of stairs in 20 minutes. She finishes with sit-ups and push-ups.

Connolly lifts weights at home. In the summer, she lifts only once a week, but during the winter, when she is concentrating on building muscle, she does three weight sessions per week, rotating through three different workouts. She performs three sets, 10 repetitions of each set. Today, Connolly does standing laterals, lateral pull backs, leg extensions, biceps curls, hamstring curls, upright rows, leg presses, one-arm bench pulls and calf lifts.

Tuesday
The women meet at Lake Union to row. They start with a 15-minute warm-up, keeping their stroke rate low at first and accelerating through the warm-up. Then, they do a speed workout, rowing at race pace (32 strokes per minute) for two minutes, and then paddling at a lower stroke rate for a minute. They repeat that sequence five times. Total workout time on the water is one hour.

Wednesday
Alexander runs stairs at another park near her home, completing 10 sets in 30 minutes. She finishes at home with 100 sit-ups, 50 push-ups and stretches. Connolly bikes on a trail for 20 miles, incorporating sprint bursts throughout the ride.

Thursday
Connolly and Alexander meet at Lake Union at 5:15 a.m. to row. They warm up for 15 minutes and move on to an endurance workout. Unlike Tuesday's speed workout, today they row longer pieces -- eight minutes -- at a lower but steady stroke rate, targeting 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. They do 10, eight-minute rows and practice two or three racing starts on the way back to the dock. Total workout time is 60-70 minutes.

Friday
This is a rest day for Alexander. Connolly either repeats her Wednesday bike workout, or runs stairs at a nearby high school stadium for 40 minutes. If the weather is bad, she works out on the elliptical machine at home for 25-35 minutes, and then finishes with 20 minutes of core exercises, using a stability ball.

Saturday
The pair meets at Lake Union at 6:15 a.m. for their longest row of the week. After their regular warm-up, they begin a longer speed workout. They do three, 15-minute pieces, rowing 30 strokes at race pace (32 strokes per minute) with 10 easy strokes in between. After completing the three sets, they practice two or three racing starts and warm down. The total workout time is 90 minutes.